THE DANGER OF HYPOCRISY
Those
who analyze their souls and find nothing to feel guilty for really
should be worried because none of us is without faults and flaws.
Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) describes the
attributes of a hypocrite in faith in a very concise way. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once said that the signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he promises, he breaks it; and if he is entrusted with something, he betrays the trust (Al-Bukhari)
This
does not mean that if a Muslim tells lies, breaks promises, or betrays
trusts he becomes a hypocrite. It means that these qualities, if found
to be a part of their nature in their regular dealings with people, are
strong indicators that this person's faith is weak.
Only
Allah knows for sure who among us is a sincere believer and who is a
true hypocrite. Sometimes hypocrites don't even realize that they are
hypocrites. They are so convincing to other people that they even
convince themselves they are believers, whereas their behavior shows
quite the opposite.
They
always find ways to justify their sinful actions and convince
themselves that they are good believers. You do not seem to be this type
of person because you find faults in yourself and do not lie to
yourself.
There are two very important patterns of behavior that many people find themselves in from time to time. The first is
that of those whose faith is strong as long as their life is going
smoothly, but as soon as something goes wrong they become miserable and
ask, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why has Allah forsaken me?"
{And
as for man, when his Lord tries him, then treats him with honor and
makes him lead an easy life, he says: My Lord honors me. But when He
tries him (differently), then restricts for him his means of
subsistence, he says: My Lord has disgraced me.} (Al-Fajr 89:15-16)
Although
this is not the proper attitude to have when things become difficult in
our lives, it is human nature to be fickle or inconsistent in our level
of belief. Life is always changing, so maintaining firm faith at all
times is difficult for the best of us.
Faith
increases and decreases but we must do our best to maintain a balance
at all times. Part of our faith in Islam requires us to believe in the
divine decree (qadar) of Allah.
If
good things happen, we consider these to be blessings from Allah's
mercy and generosity. We do not attribute them to our own skill and
talents, nor do we let them cause us to forget Allah's blessings on us.
If
bad things happen, we attribute them to the wrongfulness of our actions
and we do not let sorrow or despair cause us to lose faith in Allah.
True faith is firm regardless of the circumstances around us.
The second behavior pattern you mention is that of those who only remember Allah when bad things happen.
{So
when harm afflicts a man he calls upon Us; then, when We give him a
favor from Us, he says: I have been given it only by means of knowledge.
Nay, it is a trial, but most of them do not know.} (Az- Zumar 39:49)
These
are people who are not really close to Allah in the way they lead their
lives until something bad happens to them. They do not pray regularly,
or not at all, nor do they try to put the needs of others ahead of their
own needs. Not only that, but they fall into sinful practices as well
to further distance themselves from Allah and their duties toward Him.
When
the natural negative consequences of their actions come back to harm
them, they return to Allah and the way of Islam for a short time and
then resort to their old ways as soon as things get better again. I hope
that this is not describing you.
The
best way to avoid being a hypocrite is to ask yourself why you are
doing a certain good deed. If, for example, you are praying in a mosque,
sincerely ask yourself, "Why am I praying here in this mosque?" If the
honest answer is "To please Allah" or "To receive Allah's forgiveness
for my sins," then you are doing it for the right reasons.
If
you find that you are there because you want someone to see that you
are a good Muslim who prays in the mosque, you need to get this out of
your heart.
Having
the proper intentions is the most important aspect of our actions. If
our deeds are for anyone other than Allah, or for Allah and someone
else, He will reject them and there will be no reward for them, no
matter how great the deeds.
It
is also very important to stay close to Allah at all times, whether we
are in prayers or just performing our daily routines. Before doing
anything, we need to always ask ourselves, "Is this an action that is acceptable in Islam? Is this the way that Allah would like me to do this?" If the answer is yes, then we should go ahead without fear, even if people may say that we are wrong.
Being
in a state of hypocrisy is really far worse than being a non-believer.
At least non-believers are up front about not believing in the message
of Islam. Their position is clear and we know where we stand with them,
what to expect from them.
Hypocrites,
on the other hand, are not up front and do not reveal what is in their
heart. They pretend to be believers when in the company of Muslims, but
when they retire to their intimate friends, they show their true colors.
They are described in the Qur'an:
{When
they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe"; but when they are
alone with their evil ones, they say: "We are really with you: We (were)
only jesting."} (Al-Baqarah 2:14)
Allah
describes the hypocrites in the Qur'an in many places. Since we cannot
know what is in their hearts, we must look to their actions to best
determine their level of faith or lack of it.
If
we find their actions to be sinful, we should either advise them to
change their ways, or, if they do not listen, avoid contact with them as
much as possible so that they do not affect us negatively.
{The
hypocrites, men and women, (have an understanding) with each other:
They enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and are close-fisted with
their hands. They have forgotten Allah so He has forgotten them. Verily
the hypocrites are rebellious and perverse.} (At-Tawbah 9:67)
I
hope that this has clarified things for you. I ask Allah to purify our
hearts of hypocrisy of all types and to lead us all to what pleases Him
alone.
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